Community leaders discussed resources for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault during Mayor Matt Starr’s most recent podcast.
Starr’s guests included two from the New Directions Domestic Abuse Center: executive director Lori Jones-Perkins and victim advocate Jackie Peck. Joining them was Knox County Recorder Tanner Salyers. The panel discussed awareness, community services and resources for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
According to a Ohio Attorney General’s official report, police in Knox County investigated 161 domestic violence incidents in 2019, the most recent year statistics were available.
With over 11,000 hotline calls last year and New Directions housing up to three families at a time, Jones-Perkins said the shelter’s services fulfill a tremendous need in the community.
“What I want people to know is that it's happening,” Jones-Perkins said. “It's happening. It could be your family member, it could be your best friend, your coworker, but it isn't stopping.”
New Directions, serving survivors of domestic intimate partner and sexual violence, strives to prevent the abuse of women, men and children throughout Knox County. The shelter covers legal, hospital and youth advocacy as well as emotional support, prevention services and professional development programming, serving almost 400 survivors last year.
“Having someone who understands and isn't judging, I think, is something that is oftentimes just overlooked because you never know what a family member is going to say,” Jones-Perkins said. “They're coming in and you've been at a party, maybe you’ve been drinking and there's a whole ‘nother layer to that. And we're coming in with none of that. We're just there … to support them.”
Working with survivors is never a linear process, she said. There are often lingering issues presented in the form of parental alienation and behavioral issues in children who have been exposed to violence as the norm.
“[With] the survivors we work with, there's complex trauma, and once they get away from an abusive partner, if they have children, it's likely that this person is still in control in some way,” Peck said. “When someone's ready to leave and is able to leave safely – a lot of times we get them from the beginning where they don't even know that they can do this, they’re still questioning if this was the right decision, to watching them rebuild their life because they've done this. We’ve just been holding their hands or providing them with the resources, but it's really their own internal strength that they've done this, and we get to see that beautiful transformation.”
While the shelter works largely with women, male survivors and LGBTQ community members, especially teens, have also been a large part of its work. According to statistics, Peck said, one in four women and one in seven men will reportedly experience domestic violence in their lifetimes.
New Direction’s Teen Advisory Council currently hosts around 30 members who discuss what’s acceptable behavior in a relationship as well as intervention measures in an age-appropriate way.
Among other services, New Direction provides clothing to sexual assault survivors undergoing the rape kit testing process and follows up to help with legal procedures and temporary civil protection orders when requested.
Salyers described the Ohio Secretary of State’s Safe at Home program, which the SOS says was designed to keep victims’ personal information out of the public record in cases of domestic violence, stalking, human trafficking, rape or sexual battery.
Once a victim’s identity is concealed, it may affect the land records and other data Salyers and his office tracks. He recommended those interested and who qualify for Safe at Home should contact the SOS at 614-995-2255 or visit the office on the web at ohiosos.gov to properly register.
